I wrote a short post where I mentioned the paradox that what is considered oppression, paternalism, and sexism in one country may be viewed as virtues in another. In that post I wondered how we could ever reach a common ground with these societies whose values are so different from our own to work together in solving the problems that plague the world. This is because any change we suggest in the traditional makeup of these societies would be perceived by many as an attack on their values. And I understand this response. If anybody told me that MY values are the cause of the problem, my knee-jerk reaction would be to get mad and oppose any changes. However, a recent experience with a poverty fighting program in Bangladesh has provided the evidence needed to break these types of impasses.

CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere) is an organization that fights against poverty on a global scale. This organization along with the USAID and the government of Bangladesh initiated a program in 2004 called SHOUHARDOto reduce malnutrition in the poorest communities. The results shocked the world. In four years the level of stunting of children due to malnutrition was reduced by 28%, which is double the rate achieved by a typical USAID program. Why was this program so successful even during a time that the economy in Bangladesh deteriorated? In a nutshell the program was successful because it empowered women.

In these poor conservative communities women’s freedom was greatly restricted. If they went out to the streets without a male escort they would experience harassment. They were subjected to early marriage, violence, and abuse. The women did not have a voice in the community and lacked education. The CARE program encouraged women to band together in groups where they would safely discuss their problems and figure out strategies to solve them. When women acted together they were able to change their status in these communities and increase their decision-making power. This had a transforming effect on the finances of the family and the well-being of their children.

But the crucial fact here is that these changes were not anecdotes. They were all measured scientifically an analyzed statistically. Here for the first time is a very clear demonstration for the entire world to see that empowering women benefits the family and the society. This is not an “opinion” or a “belief” upon which reasonable people from different cultures may disagree. The cold hard data makes it clear that those social systems that do not empower women cause severe economical and health hardships for their people.

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Great post, Rolando. When we have hard facts and data like that, people can see that it's not about feminism or moral superiority, it's about an approach that works. The Grameen Bank (also in Bangladesh) chose to work with women because they found it to be the greatest return on investment in terms of decreasing poverty and returning income to the home. It just works to give women more voice in their affairs.

Thanks for your comment Laura. There are several versions out there of this saying attributed to Dr. Kwegyir-Aggrey: "If you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a family (nation)". That is what these people are discovering. A society that represses women functions with only half a brain.

These principles have been used by a number of aid organisations for many years and are fundamental to the way Oxfam, for example, operates. I remember reading an article in the New Scientist magazine in the early 1980s about the success of this approach. It's also typical that well designed community aid approaches achieve far better results in alleviating poverty and injustice than larger projects funded by such organisations as the World Bank etc.

Thanks for your comments Inge. I guess that this project and its results maybe are the best documented and analyzed or with the widest name recognition. But the principle is old: help a man and you help one person, help a woman and you help a family.

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